Cleveland Sports Forum

Not sure why we are talking about Benson or Jones. Oscar is better than both of them.

Zunino and Bell were both reasonable risks.

We can only hope so rusty. The actual numbers say otherwise though. It's still very early though and Oscar can still learn discipline...we hope.

Bell certainly was a reasonable risk and I sure would like to know why he took off the second he left.

As time goes by it become more unlikely Oscar will finally learn plate discipline. The other two also strike out too much but also draw walks. And if there's one thing Benson has proven is he's a good OF. There was some reason Oscar kept on passing through the Rule 5 draft unsigned. A good guy and i'd love him to succeed

So you understand what I mean by Oscar is better than both. Odds are similar to those 2 that Oscar will not be on the team next year. Some team will be willing to take a chance on Oscar. I do not think I see Oscar being kept as a utility outfielder over Brennen or others. I think you do not see what a young player can be until you give them the position and let them be comfortable for a period of time.

Jones and especially Benson are not special players. Brito is much more valuable than Jones will ever be. Especially as part of a trade package. Teams will want him. Benson is a strike out machine playing in a hitter friendly ball park. Great guy but just a guy.

Guardians have to add more power and there are only 2 positions up for grabs. 2 of the 3 outfield positions depending on where Kwan lands and possibly back up catcher. Now the Guardians may decide to control Manzardo's service time and not start the season with him so DH could be up for grabs.

So if the Guardians added Jones to play RF and Benson to play CF would you be happy with that ? I would not. I also do not think they can start next year with Gonzalez in any starting position. Similar to Manzardo, Valera may have his service time come into play when the season starts.

Guardians will want to continue their attendance momentum next year which means they will need to make some bold moves. They have some quality middle infielders, Beiber and possibly Quantrill to trade. They probably have a 16 million slot available especially if Beiber is traded. I am still not sold on Arias. Rocchio is considered a top 10 prospect with lots of value. Guardians have very little salary tied up in players.

Tito will be gone. Antonetti may follow. The times they could be changing

if the Guardians added Jones to play RF and Benson to play CF would you be happy with that

No more than you do.

They have a couple right handed power bats in AAA in J. Noel [27 homers] and J. Rodriguez [28] who are both far from perfect but will be contenders for RF I imagine

Hoynes notes today that Kwan and Giminez are 2nd and 3rd in overall "defensive runs" saved. I couldn't find the measure he was referring to; what I found showed Kwan far ahead of any other LF; and Giminez tops among 2nd basemen. Repeat gold gloves loom.
Straw surprisingly ranks well down on the CF list, in part because he's played a little less than every day this year

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MIke Zunino on a per game basis was not worst catcher; Jose Herrara even underformed him, but towered over Zunino at the plate, hitting a solid 208/296/257 and fanning a mere 30% of the time

civ ollilavad wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 8:16 am

if the Guardians added Jones to play RF and Benson to play CF would you be happy with that

No more than you do.

They have a couple right handed power bats in AAA in J. Noel [27 homers] and J. Rodriguez [28] who are both far from perfect but will be contenders for RF I imagine

Noel maybe. Rodriguez no.

Guardians have let it be known that Kwan will be in left field and leading off next year.

I'm OK with Kwan in Left Field and Leading off for the next decade. Offense was down a little, but he's a great fielder, a good situtional hitter, and a team leader at age 25 [or so].

All they need are bats for CF and RF.
DeLauter will be fast-tracked to Cleveland, perhaps by the end of next season. He's their kind of hitter which means protects the plate, hits line drives, and an occasional homer. My initial fear that he would be Zimmer redux seem to apparently be misplace. But he's only had a few months as a pro.

Chase DeLauter Bats: L
AGE 21 DOB 10/08/2001

HT 6' 4" WT 235
DRAFTED
2022, 1st (16) - CLE

ETA 2025

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55

Barely recruited as a West Virginia high schooler, DeLauter attended James Madison and became the first first-rounder in Dukes history after batting .402/.520/.715 in three years. The pandemic limited his first two seasons and a broken left foot shortened his third, but he proved himself with wood bats by leading the Cape Cod League in homers (nine) and slugging (.589) in the summer of 2021. He reinjured his foot after signing for $3.75 million as the 16th overall pick, leading to surgery to replace a screw with a bone graft in January and putting his pro debut on hold until midseason 2023.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound DeLauter offers a rare combination of size, athleticism, plate discipline and performance. His bat speed, strength and leverage combine to give him well above-average raw power to all parts of the ballpark, and he lets his power come naturally with an extremely disciplined approach. Scouts aren't enamored of his tendency to get long with his left-handed swing [that's my Zimmer worry] or to drift onto his front foot, but that hasn't stopped him from making a lot of hard contact.

DeLauter possesses solid speed and translates it into basestealing ability and center-field range. Some scouts think he's destined for right field, where his plus power and arm strength would fit the classic profile. He delivered low-90s fastballs when he pitched sporadically in college.

Josh Bell last 30 days

Last 30 Games 115 12 27 4 8 9 33 0 .235 .290 .365

OPS 655

In my view Monday's game was lost by Tito. Stephen came in and got the first 2 outs and then just lost it. He should have been pulled after the 2 walks, then the ceiling caved in.

Totally a winnable game.

Actually Rick Manning would agree with you.

Look, clearly Reynaldo Lopez is their 2nd best reliever at this point followed by Hentges. Stephan can't command his fastball and that always, always leads to inconsistent results.

In september, Stephen lost 3 Clase lost 2 and Curry lost one in relief.
the rest of the time we're 9-3

And Stephan's mess yesterday wasn't the worst of the month, he allowed 5 in the 8th inning back the day after the 20-6 mess.